Illinois Paid Leave to Vote Law

As November 4, 2014 nears, employers are reminded about an important Illinois law requiring employers to give employees paid leave to vote.  Employers must grant employees up to two hours of paid absence during working hours between the time of opening and closing of the polls.  The employer may specify the hours during which the employee may take the leave, but the employer must permit a two-hour absence during working hours if the employee’s working hours begin less than two hours after the opening of the polls and end less than two hours before the closing of the polls.  Employees wanting to use such paid absence must request voting leave no later than the day before the day of the election.  The employee utilizing voting leave may not be penalized by the employer in any way, and an employer may not reduce an employee’s compensation due to the absence or otherwise retaliate against the employee for exercising rights under the law. 

 For more information concerning this or other issues affecting labor and employment, please contact:

Kimberly Sarff
Peoria, Illinois
Direct:  309-636-7225
Fax:  309-674-6503
Email:  ksarff@quinnjohnston.com

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© 2014 Kimberly A. Sarff, Esq., Quinn Johnston Henderson Pretorius Cerulo